Some Important Considerations For First-Time Gun Buyers: Lessons From Personal Experience

A customer shops for a pistol. Americans purchased a record number of guns in 2012. About 47 percent of Americans own guns. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Several years ago I went through some difficult deliberations with myself regarding whether or not to own a gun for self-defense. My wife and I had just experienced the second theft of an automobile from the parking area immediately outside our front door, prompting keen awareness that perhaps our home was vulnerable to invasion as well. There had been a number of recent home break-ins and brutal physical assaults on residents in other very nice Houston neighborhoods which greatly heightened our concern.

I had some limited experience with firearms at the time, having begun with BB guns as a youngster, graduating to small .22 caliber plinking rifles, and receiving some basic training with larger caliber arms in the military. However, my U.S. Air Force service as an air traffic controller “talking in” aircraft with radar for low-visibility landings didn’t involve carrying a weapon. Later, as a married graduate student living in a mobile home park where there had been some troubling incidents, I acquired an old WWII .32 caliber semiautomatic Beretta pistol, one I had never even practice-shot, but still owned. Yet I had no confidence, whatsoever, that either it or I could be counted on in an emergency.

First Decisions:

I acutely remember realizing that a decision whether or not to own a gun for seriously defensive purposes posed daunting responsibilities and questions. First and foremost, would I really be prepared to take a life under any circumstances, even if my own, or worse, those of family members were threatened? As terrible as that possibility was to contemplate, I decided that the answer was strongly affirmative.

The second issue to grapple with had to do with whether my possession of a weapon in a bad-case scenario would offer better safety odds, or rather, just present added risk. Would I be likely to respond rapidly and effectively enough…for example, if caught surprised at night by an armed assailant? Would I have the cool-headed confidence to react before one or more bad guys with little compunction about using deadly force gained the advantage? Would I be likely to have both the psychological composure and shooting skill to handle a potentially deadly encounter? At that time, the answer to all of those questions was clearly “no”.

A third set of questions was equally important to my decision. Even with proper mental and skill preparedness, did the statistical likelihood of experiencing an armed home invasion, gun-point car-jacking or other assault warrant owning a firearm? So far as real risk exposure was concerned, I had a lot less to worry about than people who live in high-crime locales, particularly the elderly, and women who live alone,

Was I just overreacting to an unlikely prospect? After all, didn’t I drive daily on freeways that claimed many lives every year, knowing that most likely, I will return uninjured? Yeah, but that’s because I had little choice. Plus, I remained carefully conscious of traffic hazards, and recognized that safety belts and airbags were provided for a valid reason. In any case, I decided that regardless of the actual crime risk level, I wasn’t going to take unnecessary chances, or voluntarily surrender to become a victim candidate.

So, Having Decided, Where to Start?

I knew that I had a great deal to learn before I had any right to even begin to imagine that personal defense gun ownership was a good plan. Since I wasn’t aware of any available firearms courses, I decided that the next step was to find an experienced personal instructor. A local firearms store recommended a woman who offered one-on-one training, and I retained her helpful services.

Like most everything else, it seemed sensible to get all fundamentals down correctly before charging ahead and developing bad habits. Very fortunately, excellent firearms training opportunities are available in many locales today…particularly in the majority of states and cities that permit concealed or open handgun carry.

Firearms training isn’t all about learning how to shoot…not by a long shot. Even more fundamentally, it addresses strategies to avoid potentially dangerous encounters, teaches home and outdoor defense tactics, and presents extremely important and sobering legal issues and liability consequences associated with use of deadly force. It is made abundantly clear that shooting someone under any circumstances, however urgent and justified, is going to be a huge and distressing life-changer.

The practical firearms handling and marksmanship aspect of the training won’t make you an expert, but will instill basic safety protocols and a beginning level of proficiency. If you haven’t fired a handgun before, you are likely to find the experience to be a whole lot less frightening than you may have previously imagined.

Paxton Quigley, who has since taught more than 7,000 other women to shoot, discussed her first gun range shooting experience in a Daily Beast article. That was after a stranger broke into the bathroom window of a friend and raped her. When Paxton asked her friend “If you had a gun, do you think you could have stopped the attacker”, the answer was “yes”.

Soon afterwards, Paxton took a gun course, stating: “I had never shot a gun. I had never touched a gun. I was actually anti-gun. But I thought, this is never going to happen to me.” That shooting experience first gave her a headache. She remembered, “I didn’t like the noise; I didn’t like the kick of the gun. I got home and fell into a deep sleep.” But then, “When I woke up, I felt so good…I knew how to shoot a gun.”

Choosing a Handgun:

If you ask many of experienced people about what type, caliber and model of handgun to purchase, you are likely to get lots of different answers. Informed responses should take your special characteristics into account: for example; whether you have any firearms experience at all; your body stature and hand size; whether the gun is principally intended for concealed carry and/or for home defense; and how likely it is that you will engage in recreational and defensive practice.

If you don’t plan to take a firearms training course and then follow-up with periodic target practice, you should really think twice or thrice about even owning a firearm. Preferably, rent and try out different guns at a gun range offering the course before you make a purchase. This will enable you to develop skills with a weapon you are most comfortable with, initiating a satisfying experience you will be inclined to repeat.

I don’t claim to be an expert, but I do shoot about weekly, and will share some general thoughts for consideration:

Never, ever buy a gun because it’s cheap! Pick something with a well-known trusted brand. You can save some money buying a good condition used name-brand gun, but have a competent gunsmith check it over before you shoot it to be sure it’s safe. However, as first-time gun owner without experience knowing what to look for, it’s probably a better idea to get something new.

Don’t buy a small-caliber gun thinking that you just want to scare away or hurt an assailant. You should buy a gun to use as a lethal, last chance, worst case, assault response. If you can see that the bad guy is armed, that “stop or I’ll shoot” none sense will get you killed.

If you’re interested in something very compact to carry (in a purse, for example), or if you sleep in an upper level bedroom, you might seriously think about getting two different guns. The larger, more accurate one should be immediately accessible upstairs in the event of a downstairs break-in where the intruder will be most distant. Accordingly, it should also be the gun you spend the most time practicing with at the range to develop proficiency and confidence. I suggest that you purchase this one before getting any other.

I believe that some types of guns generally make better choices for first-time shooters than others. While, as a regular shooter, I personally prefer extremely popular “1911-style” semiautomatic handguns (which I won’t take space to explain here), they are somewhat more complicated to operate, and much trickier to take apart (“break down”) for cleaning, than revolvers. There are also other semiautomatic options (meaning detachable magazines and one trigger pull…one “bang”) that are fine candidates as well. Among these, I like Glocks, which combine excellent reliability, fine accuracy, and a good value price (around $700 retail).

A big advantage of revolvers is that they almost never malfunction, while even the best semiautomatics can sometimes fail to chamber a round or jam (“stove pipe”). Such problems are most apt to occur with inexperienced shooters who don’t hold the gun firmly enough. Learning to rapidly clear a jam is of fundamental importance.

The biggest disadvantage with revolvers is that they are limited to a six-round, or even five-round, capacity, and they lack rapid bullet re-load feature (unless you are an expert). Semiautomatic weapons, on the other hand, typically hold at least nine rounds (one in the chamber plus another eight in standard rapid change-out magazines), and there are also many with standard or optional magazine capacities holding up to 18 rounds.

These capacity and re-load differences can be especially critical in circumstances when there are multiple assailants, and where accurate sighting is hampered by poor lighting conditions when attacks are most likely to occur. An Atlanta woman hiding in an attic crawl space with her two nine-year-old twins recently fended off a home intruder with a six-shot .38 caliber revolver, hitting him five times in the face and neck. Yet he was still able (and certainly highly motivated) to flee the house. She was very fortunate, not only with her successful accuracy, but also because there was only intruder.

Pick a reliable first gun that you can expect to enjoy frequently practicing with so that you learn to react quickly and effectively under stress. Small, lightweight, short-barrel guns, even those of modest caliber, often have unpleasant recoil. They also lack sufficient accuracy to encourage repeated use. Many new guns require a break-in period before they can be counted upon to be totally dependable. Some are finicky about the brand of ammunition they function with most reliably.

With regard to caliber, for semiautomatics I happen to like .45 ACP (a big, but slow round that isn’t at all punishing to shoot in a standard size gun); 9mm; or 38 Super. I personally find .40 caliber a bit noisy with sharper felt recoil due to higher velocity than I prefer for regular range practice. In revolvers, it’s hard to beat a .357 Magnum gun for defense, which also shoots less expensive/ lower- recoil .38 Special bullets for target practice. Here, Ruger and Smith & Wesson are strong brands.

You might want to also consider getting a .22 handgun, either a revolver or semiautomatic, just for inexpensive target practice. It can afford a good training tool for improving trigger control and sight alignment skill to achieve tighter shot groups. Again, Ruger and Smith & Wesson make versions of both.

Home Gun Storage and Safety:

As the old adage goes, bad things can happen “when seconds count and police are only minutes away”. The same thing can be said about times when defense guns are minutes away…such as locked up in places which can’t be instantly accessed… for example, when you need to fumble with a keyed or combination-lock safe under urgent conditions, or when bullets to render it useful have to be hurriedly located and loaded in the dark.

At the same time, no one wants loaded guns to be accessible to children or immature young adults either. In addition to your own children or grandchildren, their visiting friends have to be taken into account as well. One solution is to keep loaded handguns in small lock boxes that can be easily and rapidly opened, even in the dark, by pushing a simple combination of buttons and twisting a lever on the lid. Of course this won’t prevent a burglar from stealing the entire box, but that’s not the main priority.

Those young minds can be encouraged to be less curious and more responsible if taught about gun safety and proficiency at early ages. I routinely witness this at gun ranges, where fathers and mothers introduce sons and daughters to extremely stringent safety protocols which carry over into all other aspects of disciplined behavior. I see children who proudly recognize the trust parents place upon them to abide by demanding rules…satisfactions of earned confidence and accountability that will forever guide their lives.

Guns Aren’t Just a Guy Thing Anymore:

Rachael Parsons, a NRA pistol instructor, observes: “Women are interested in learning how to use a gun, not just frivolously going out and buying a firearm without being educated.” She notes that while men often come into firearm ownership at a young age from the sporting side and then later develop an interest in self-defense, women typically have an opposite introduction to guns driven by feelings of vulnerability. Then, after they come in from the defense side, they realize it is really fun.

Buddy Savage, owner of a Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania firearms store, agrees that “Once they [women] get over the stigma of associating the firearm with something negative, they associate it with something positive and they get more actively involved with it. They see there is some recreation involved in the use of firearms. They’re getting more training while they’re having fun.”

No longer is gun ownership relegated in any way to gals who visualize themselves as a male-inspired Dirty Harriet character. In fact there’s certainly nothing unfeminine about it at all. As Lesa Ellanson, a shooting instructor with NRA’s “Women on Target” program told CBS News “Early Show” contributor Katrina Szish regarding those who say guns are masculine, “It would depend on how you define femininity. I think a capable woman is the most feminine expression of power there is.”

It’s appropriate and necessary for more women to exercise that power. According to statistics reported by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), a woman is sexually assaulted in the U.S. every two minutes…more than 207,000 each year. About 80 percent of these victims are under the age of 30, often young women who are caught totally unaware while talking on cellphones or texting.

Yet regardless of gender, the greatest defensive power of all applies common sense to avoid unnecessary risk exposure. This typically entails simple precautions, like doing grocery shopping during active daytime hours whenever possible, staying away from outside ATM machines at night, and not opening your home to strangers. If someone comes to your door, tells you that their car has broken down, and asks to use your telephone, offer to call the police on their behalf. Then do so, and watch to see if they leave.

Guns aren’t for everyone, and maybe ownership isn’t right for you. They are never a substitute for good judgment, and without that, they make absolutely no sense at all.

I am a professor and endowed professor at the University of Houston where I founded and direct the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and head the graduate program in space architecture. My background deals extensively with research, planning and design of...